TCD graduates set to launch food sustainability app

Two entrepreneurial Trinity College Dublin graduates are set to launch a new to encourage sustainable food consumption this summer.

The app called Evocco is designed to give consumers real-time information about the environmental cost of food shop to help users make more environmentally-friendly choices.

At an event in TCD last week, the creators of the app want to promote simple and sustainable shopping in an age where trying to live an environmentally conscious lifestyle can become a challenge.

Creators Hugh Weldon and Ahmad Muazzam Photo: Ramya Ramalingam

Creators Hugh Weldon and Ahmad Muazzam define Evocco as an innovative mobile assistant, educating the consumer to make sustainable and guilty-free shopping decisions.

The app will take data on food from the scientific and research community and then translate it into actionable steps that may help us to reduce environmental impact in the food supply chain through our purchases.

The app combines “Nudge Psychology” and machine learning to allow users to make purchases that reflect their ethical beliefs in a highly personalized environment.

The app will give consumers information on the carbon footprint of products, as well as resources used and the environmental impact of each product.

Mr Weldon and Mr Muazzam plan are to start at the local level and built data related to the Irish market and expand to other markets in Europe and the world at a later date.

Photo: Ramya Ramalingam

Food Waste

The TCD event also touched on sustainability and how people can bring more ethical consumerism to their lifestyle.

Ciara Beausang, a PhD candidate at the School of Biosystems and Food Engineering at University College Dublin (UCD), spoke about food waste and how it poses a major challenge in achieving a sustainable future.

According to the EPA, Irish householders throw out on average €700 worth of food annually, adding to the estimated one million tons of waste piling up across Ireland every year.

One in eight people in Ireland experiences food poverty according to FoodCloud, while over one billion tonnes of food is wasted globally every year.

The Charter aims to encourage businesses and communities to put in place at least one food waste prevention activity within the first year of signing up to the Charter and to take further action by 2020.

About the Author

Felipe Wasserstein

Felipe is studying for an MA in Journalism and Media Communications from Griffth College Dublin. He is passionate about the environment, history, and cinema.